Campaigning Reaches A New Low

Wow. Even I'm shocked by the egregiousness of the following campaign ad. I knew things were going to get ugly, but in this bold and falsified commercial, McCain alleges that Obama voted in favor of sex education for kindergartners.



In the words of my friend MaryAnn Martin, "Obama's bill in the state legislature would have, besides giving parents the ability to opt-out, TAUGHT KIDS TO RECOGNIZE INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING BY STRANGERS. In other words, the bill that McCain claims (and remember, he "approves of this message") would teach little kids about sex would actually help prevent child molestation."

Good God. Is it freakin' November yet?

Feminist Writer Posts Humorous Pictures; Goes to Bed

Okay, these are too funny not to share with you all. And yes, this is what I do late at night, when I'm done with my work for the day and my fiance has already gone to bed.

Japan Love Hotels: We're Not in Kansas Anymore

I've always found it interesting to compare the sexual customs of cultures around the globe, and Japan love hotels are definitely a great example of this. Love hotels in Japan are literally rent-a-room facilities in which couples can go away together to have sex in private. Rooms are typically rented by the hour, and you can't schedule an overnight stay until after 10:00 PM (ha!). Daytime visits usually receive discounted rates, and discretion is top priority for hotel staff. In fact, the lobby has shielded vestibules that occupants can wait in until their "date" arrives, and simply exiting the hotel is accepted as a usual method of check-out.

Traditionally, love hotels have been frowned upon by the Japanese public, and their services have been forced into creepy UFO-type buildings with gray walls and no windows. However, within the past couple of years, several architectural projects have been designed to improve the comfort, aesthetic, and "sexiness" of love hotels. Take, for instance, this project, which was a book published in 2006 containing photos of some of the most creative new love hotel rooms being built in Japan today. I especially enjoyed the Cosmic Galaxy Room (the "rocket" similes are endless):


As well as the Ice Cube Room:



On the other hand, some of the rooms are extremely creepy, such as the "Kiddie" Room (shudder):


And the "Subway" Room ("Step right up and grope a stranger today!"):




Note the comments left from visitors who are quite disturbed by the hotel room pictures. However, poster ceejay makes an interesting point, which may serve to show that being freaked out by another culture is usually the same thing as not understanding it.

"An important point about love hotels is that they are not just for illicit affairs. Traditionally and still in rural areas, the whole extended family lived together. So husband, wife, grandmother, grandfather, children... all under one roof. The only way married couples can get some privacy and nookie would be to check into one of these love hotels."

So, Japanese love hotels: creepy or functional? You be the judge.

How much is that doggy in the window?

So, my fiance and I got a dog a couple of weeks ago. His name is Martin, and he's a 3-month-old miniature dachshund. He's pretty much the best dog ever. And yes, he's wearing a t-shirt in the picture, because he gets cold and shivers when the AC is on.

I have wanted a dog for as long as I can remember, but I guess I didn't think it would be so life-changing to have a puppy. I want to be careful about comparing dogs to kids, because I fully realize that they're TOTALLY not the same, but this is the first time that I've actually been responsible for another life aside from my own, and it's kind of a big deal. I mean, you're not only forming a friendship with them, but also taking care of all of their needs as well as guiding, teaching, and disciplining them. I guess you're sort of raising them, in a way. And frankly, you care so much about the darn thing that you can't give him any less than your best when taking care of him.

It's been an interesting change for my fiance and I to shift the focus of our relationship from each other to the dog. I mean, a lot of that is temporary of course, since he's still a puppy right now and needs so much time and attention, but it gives us a slight inkling as to what raising children might be like. We've had to be a lot more intentional about making time for ourselves and our romantic relationship since we got Martin.

And the funny thing is that having Martin has made me completely uninterested in ever having children, whereas it's made my fiance more excited about the idea. I'm not sure how that works, but it probably has something to do with some complicated gender role issue that I'm too tired to think about right now. Toodles.

The Hills: Season 4

I'm a devoted Hills fan, I won't deny it. I've been watching it since the very beginning, mostly because I can relate to it so much - moving to a new city, figuring out who your friends are, dating, getting your career started. The Hills is obviously annoying because it's set in the world's most enraging city (L.A.), but at least we can laugh at the stupid people along the way.

So I finally got the chance to see the season 4 premiere today, because on Monday I was out of town buying a puppy. Here are my thoughts:

Lauren - It's good that she's dating the new Doug guy so that Brody will be out of the picture. But he's obviously totally boring and shallow, just like her.

Lo - What an annoying, immature baby. She needs to stop being so mean to Audrina, and stop being so possessive of Lauren. It's so weird how she can't do anything without her precious L.C. by her side - you'd like it would get boring being the second banana. And what is her job, anyway? Is she going to school or something? It's like she never even does anything.

Audrina - I definitely like her, because she's just blowing Lo and Lauren off and not caring about staying in their stupid circle anymore. Just PLEASE stay away from Justin Bobby this season!

Whitney - Boring as usual. But kind of nice I guess.

Heidi and Spencer - Oh God. Why does she even put up with Spencer's antics? I don't understand why he would be so mad at her for letting her sister stay with them. Supposedly it's all just a scripted act for the cameras though.

Stephanie - Why does Lauren care so much about being her friend? She's obviously just a bitchy drama queen. I can't wait to see her stab Lauren in the back so that she'll stop getting airtime on the show.

I'll let you know my thoughts after tomorrow's new episode.

Feeding Your F--ing Family

In lieu of my last post, there couldn't be a better time to present to you this hilarious video segment by Sarah Haskins.

Target Women: Feeding Your F--ing Family

Housework and the Dreaded E-mail Forward

Last week, my mom sent me another one of her "hilarious" e-mail forwards, which she receives daily in mass quantities from her elderly, assumedly bored relatives. I would let you read the "joke" in its entirety if I still had the e-mail in my inbox, but in replace of the actual document, my stilted summary will have to suffice.

The e-mail contained the story of a man who thinks that his wife, who is a stay-at-home mom, "has it easy," and asks God to allow them to switch bodies for a day. God does so, and the man experiences a long day of demeaning household chores and back-breaking labor, which are meticulously listed item by item as they occur throughout the day. The final "job" on his list of chores is having sex, which he consents to, even though he is quite tired and would really rather skip it.

The next morning, the man wakes up and begs God for forgiveness, admitting that his wife does, indeed, work quite hard. When he asks God to switch them back, God responds with the knee-slapping quip "That's great, but you'll have to wait 9 months. You got pregnant last night."

That's supposed to be the punch line.

At the end of the e-mail, I was completely confused. Which part is the joke? That the man "learns his lesson" by realizing how much his wife does around the house? That he ends up getting pregnant at the end? Or that men's worst nightmare is to endure what women experience on an everyday basis?

To me, this "joke" is so very, extremely sad. Of course women have horrible lives. Of course society wants us to be domestic servants and sex slaves and baby makers. But you know it's getting bad when women's lives literally start to become an actual punch line. "At least you're not a woman! Then things would be really bad!" "Think you had a bad day at work today? Just be lucky you still have a penis, or your life would be as horrible as a woman's!"

Anywho, aside from the rage it incites, this "joke" does bring up an interesting feminist issue, which is that of household duties. Here's what I don't get - why does every single commercial selling some type of household cleaning product have to feature a woman? Why do cleaning commercials always joke about women having to clean up after their husbands, who are consistently depicted as witless clods? Yes, it's yet another insidious lie perpetrated by American patriarchal capitalism: Women clean because they're smarter than men! That's right ladies, even though your husband is a grown man with a college degree, he just can't seem to figure out how to wipe off a counter! That's why you need to do it, you clever, savvy woman you! Now get to that kitchen and maybe your husband will give you a cookie when you're done!